Closed early last Tuesday because of a dead espresso machine, and it turned into my best sales day of the month
So last Tuesday my main espresso machine died around 8am, right in the middle of the morning rush, and I almost lost it. I run a small shop in Highland Park with just me and two baristas, and that machine is basically the whole business. The repair guy could not get there until 2pm, so I did the only thing I could think of and pulled out the old drip setup and my two pour over cones. I put a handwritten sign on the counter saying espresso was down but pour overs were on me for $3 flat. What happened next still kind of blows my mind. People actually stayed, a bunch of regulars ordered pour overs just to support us, and one guy bought 4 bags of beans to take home. By the time the tech showed up we had done $780 in sales, which beats our normal Tuesday by almost $200. Now I am sitting here wondering if I should add a slow bar on purpose one day a week. Has anyone else had a breakdown turn into a surprise win, or am I just lucky this once?